We work in neighbourhoods across the city in partnership with residents and stakeholders to help create communities that thrive
Our team of Community Workers work collaboratively on initiatives and events throughout the year to create opportunities for people, help to improve our spaces and promote community cohesion and ownership.
Community development initiatives
North Prospect community mosaic project
A group of North Prospect residents were keen to make their mark on The Beacon and help promote the place a welcoming, inclusive space for people to come and enjoy.
Working with The Beacon Social Group, local councillor and Lord Major Tina Touhy, The Wolselely Trust, Lark Childrens Centre and MAKE Southwest, the mosaic was made with community members and local artist Michelle McQuinn.
Plymouth Respect and Kite Flying Festival 2024
The Plymouth and Devon Racial Equality Council (PDREC) held an event on Plymouth Hoe to bring people of all ages, abilities, and cultures together to celebrate the diversity of the city.
Rheinallt Huws attended the event with a helping hand from PCH resident Woody, both participating in the litter-picking event and helping to maintain the cleanliness and beauty of Plymouth Hoe during the festivities.
Tree planting in Plymouth
Over winter, the PCH Communities Team and the Environmental Team have been working with the Plymouth Tree People and the Plymouth and South Devon Community Forest to plant trees on PCH land.
This work will go some way to tackle climate change and improve British wildlife habitats.
This winter, we planted trees at Devonport Hill, Pentamar Street, Ross Street, Queen Street, Albert Road, Albany Flats and Henderson Place. PCH residents gave ideas about which trees they’d like to see planted and feedback about the work was positive.
The Beacon food cooperative
We've been working with residents in North Prospect to help them to access affordable good quality food.
A link has been made with the city's Cooperative Food Project Manager from 4 Greens Community Trust and local charity Fareshare.
Run by its members for its members, the coop is designed to help reduce the amount of surplus food getting wasted by redistributing it to the community.
Each member takes an active role in the food coop in order to ensure it is operating in a way that benefits its members. The coop operates on a membership basis, although spaces do come up from time to time.
Janners Men's Shed to raise money for a community defibrillator
The Janner Men’s Shed have invested in a laser printer and can now laser intricate patterns and designs into wood. The laser printed pen below, can have any words printed on it, and would be an ideal birthday gift. They only cost £2.50 each.
Together with other local partners, such as the local shops, the local pub and the bingo group, the Shed have also started to collect money for a community defibrillator. The nearest one is over a mile away and would be of no use in an emergency. Over winter, there were 3 medical emergencies near the Hall when a defibrillator would have been useful.
So far, they’ve raised £1,000 and need to raise £3,000 for all the equipment.
Plymouth Pride 2024
We teamed up with Plymouth Pride for 2024, one of the top Pride events in the UK, as a Pride Community Champion sponsor,
Organised by Plymouth Pride CIC, the event brought together local organisations and businesses and other stalls, exhibitions and activities ran by local LGBTQIA+ organisations.
Attendees were able to connect with community members, discover resources, and learn about various initiatives dedicated to promoting LGBTQIA+ rights.
The Janner Men's Shed
The Janner Men’s Shed meets weekly at Leigham Community Hall. This popular group comes together to socialise, have lunch and complete wordwork. It’s a safe place to meet, converse, share skills, create, and make new friends.
The group is supported by a PCH Community Development Worker.
North Prospect lantern parade
Working in partnership with Sovereign Housing and The Conscious Sisters, PCH organised a lantern parade with carol singing around North Prospect, following lantern making workshops with local adults and children.
The lanterns were paraded around local streets and stopped at the SNG Sheltered Housing scheme for carol singing.
30 people were in attendance and were warmly welcomed by the wider community.
The parade was finished with hot chocolate, cakes and sandwiches at The Beacon which were provided by North Prospect Food Coop.
Fishing Friends
We are currently working in partnership with The Conscious Sisters on Fishing Friends to increase residents’ interaction with the sea, as well as improve mental and physical well-being, teaching skills to cook and addressing food poverty.
Last year’s Marine Edibles project was so successful that PCH and The Conscious Sisters worked in partnership to successfully obtain £20k from the National Lottery Fund and £2k from Sports England for fishing equipment to repeat the project over the next two years.
We have already started the first intake this year and have so far included shore fishing, boat fishing, a talk on the maritime history of Plymouth and a VR swimming with Dolphins experience.
We are currently doing more fishing and later we will be learning to cook the fish we catch, making a fish pie and a Spanish fish stew.
